Ice tray cube lifter



Dec. 2., 1952 EZBA ICE TRAY CUBE LIFTER Filed Nov. 20, 1950 INVENTOR fig-E- ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 2, 1,952

Gnstave'Miller, Washington,

'ApplieationiNovember 20, 1950,5Seria1. No.196g629 22 Claims. (c1. e2- 1085 l This invention relates to 4an ice trayfcube lifter 1and lhas for an object -to provide Ian improved cube -filter particularly intended for luse in ice Ycube trays of the type conventionally used in mechanical refrigerators in the home.

Another object of this `invention is to provide van improved means of llifting the ice cubes of a :mechanical 'refrigerator vice -cube tray partly fabove the level of the top of the tray, Yso -as to lmake such Alifted cubes readily available for removal ltherefrom without'disturbing the remain- NAing cubes, whereby the remaining cubes can -be lreplaced in the refrigerator vwhile in the tray for future use.

.1A further Iobjectfof this invention is to prothat releases or separates vthe ice cubes from the r :tray Aand ice 'cube'grid in the tray.

A fur-ther object of Vthis invention Afis to raise ii'c'er cubes 'partially out of vthe ice cube tray of afmechanical refrigerator whenever the frelease handle is pulled up. `Sometimes it is `desirable 'to `have la Vfew lcubes 'readily available without 'usngthe whole trayful 'of cubes, and itis difficult '5to-do `so `unless'the separating grids are removed 'from the tray. Then,it is impractical to .replace the fseparators if the `remaining `ice cubes are notto 'be likewise removed.

With this invention, ice cube ejectors or ylifters are-provided for, say, 'four ice cubes for autolmatically klifting such four ice cubes above the levelof theremaining cubes, when the release :handle is Lpulled up, thus making it possible to readily remove one'or more of the four ice cubes andfleaving the remaining ice cubes in position Kwithin' the grid, so that when the handle is moved to the down position, the tray'with the remainning cubes may be placed back vin the Vrefrigerator for :future use.

H"A `further object of this invention is to provide'a means 'for lifting any selected number of ice `cubes vpartially above the sides of the ice Lcube tray, making such Vlifted cubes readily available for easy removal while leaving the .unused cubes, even those on the lifting means'of this invention, in a vposition to remain in the tray 'when the release 'handle is dropped downwardly, so that such ice cube tray may be placed back in the refrigerator with the remaining cubes.

-A further object of this invention is to rprovide --an ice cube lifter which may be used for lifting `all-or less Athan'all'of the ice cubes partially from vthe tray and which v.will lift the cubes vertically without tiltingduring the raising-cycle and, 'as such, is an improvement over U. S. Patent Number 2,386,064.

Still, a further object of this invention -is to provide mechanism for .raising'or liftingy icecubes from the ice cube tray of the typeiused indomestic refrigerators in such amannerthat the ice cubes will rise vertically from the `vtray and be easily accessible lfor removal therefrom, and, .if not re moved, will drop back into the tray when the release handle which was lifted to operate the mechanism -is placed down v again.

With the foregoing and other objects in view,

kas will hereinafter become apparent, `this invention comprises the combinations, constructions, and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forth, disclosed, claimed andillustratedlin the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. rl is a top plan view of -an ice .cubetray andice cube grid releasing mechanism to which the ice cube lifting-mechanismfof this invention has been added;

Fig. -2fis.a side plan view of the ice cube separator grid and Voperating mechanism with .this invention added in the .downposition;

Fig.f3is a view simi1ar.to1Fig..2 inthe ice cube released and'li'fted position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-"4 of Fig.i3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-"5 oflFig. .4;

Fig. 6 is atop `plan view of a lifter plate; Yand Fig. 7 is a top plan view of agrid separator, -to which the lifting extensions of this invention have been added;

There is shown at Iii an ice `cube tray of con'- ventional tray handleat one end thereof. VWithin the tray Il) there is Vprovided a grid I2 .consisting of the usual transverse separators I3v provided withthe usual vertically extending central vslots through which extend the lower `center dividing bar I4 and the upper sliding center-.dividing bar I5 in a conventional manner, a release handle I6 being pivoted at I1 `through .one end of the lower center dividingbar I4 and through a reinforcing strap I8, the release handle IB being also'provided with asecond pivot -20 which extends through a double link 2 I, in turn pivoted at 22 tothe Yupper sliding center dividing bar, such link 2 I extending rthrough lthe slot of the nearest separator I3 to rangular'position shown in Fig-2 to thesubstantially vertical position shown .in Fig. '.3, thus 3 breaking the ice cubes free from the grid and from the tray, all in the conventional manner, the mechanism thus far described all being conventional and, while not forming part of this invention, are utilized in the operation of this invention.

In the conventional manner, raising the release handle I3 from the low position shown in Fig. 2 or Fig. 1, to the raised position shown in Fig. 3, conventionally breaks the ice cubes free from the tray and the grid but does not facilitate the removal of the cubes from the tray except by turning the tray upside down or by completely lifting the grid and permitting the cubes to be spilled from the tray. This is satisfactory when all the ice cubes are to be used at once, but if only a few ice cubes are needed the remaining ice cubes'are usually wasted as it is very diflicult to place the remaining cubes back in the grid within the tray. With this invention, however, a selected number of cubes are lifted above the level of the tray in a vertical position without tilting and such vertically lifted cubes may be readily removed either with ones fingers or with a small pair of ice tongs, leaving the remaining cubes in position within the tray and back on the bottom of the tray again when the handle I6 is moved to the down position, so that such remaining cubes in the tray may be placed back in the refrigerator for future use.

As hereinafter shown, this invention has been arranged for lifting four ice cubes from the bottom of the tray but obviously may be made in different sizes so as to lift a greater or a lesser number of ice cubes from the bottom of the tray. The ice cube lifting mechanism of this invention includes a pair of extension plates 23 integrally secured at such an angle to a grid separator plate 24, that the extension plates 23 will be horizontal while the grid separator plates I3 and 24 are in the usual somewhat angular position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with the release handle I3 in the down position. As shown in Fig. 7, these extension plates 23 are closely spaced from the center line of the grid separator 24 but obviously may be symmetrically placed a further distance from the center line if desired. Lifting plates 25 are provided consisting of plate portions 23 of substantially the same size as the extension plates 23, the lifting plates 25 being connected together in pairs by a linking neck 27 substantially narrower than the plates 23. The separator plate 2li is provided with a pair of vertically extending slots L having a width equal to the width of the plate neck 27 and having a height at least equal to the width of the plate portions 26, as a result of which the lifting plates 25 are assembled by merely being placed vthrough the vertical slots 28 in separator plate 2li until the neck 2l is in such slot, whereupon the lifting plate 25 is rotated to the horizontal position and drops clown on top of the extension plates 23. When only four ice cubes are to be lifted, only one of the grid separators 24 is provided with the vertical slot 23, the same grid separator 2d also having the integral plate extensions 23 secured at the bottom, and such plate extensions 23 are likewise secured in a symmetrical position on the next adjacent grid separator 3S. Obviously, if six cubes are desired to be released instead of four, it may be made in a six cube size by merely adding another link neck 2 and another plate portion 25, and providing another grid separator and extension plate identical with the grid separator 24 and its extension plate. Both the extension plates 23 and lifting plates 25 must be made of a suitable material, but it will usually be found that the extension plates integral with the grid separator 24 or 3D may be made of the same material as such grid separator, while the lifting plates 24 may be made of a somewhat stronger material, such as stainless steel, the grid separators being conventionally made of aluminum.

In operation, when the release handle I6 is in the down position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the angle of the plate extensions 23 is such to the grid separator that the extension plates 23 lie horizontal against the bottom of the tray, and in this position the lifting plates 25 likewise remain at the bottom of the vertical slots 28 flat against the top of the extension plates 23. When the handle I6 is lifted from the down position of Figs. 1 and 2 to the release position of Fig. 3, the free ends of the extension plates 23 will rise up to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5, elevating the lifting plate 25 simultaneously to the raised position as shown, the link 21 rising up vertically in the slot 28 which guides it. With the plate 25 thus being supported and lifted at at least two points of contact thereon and guided by the slot 28, it rises vertically, thus lifting the ice cube 3l in such compartments in which the lifting mechanism is located above the level of the tray and above the remaining ice cubes 32 in theremaining compartments which do not have this lifting mechanism. As thus lifted, the ice cubes 3l may be readily removed from the tray by ones lingers or by a small pair of ice tongs, and then when the handle I3 is placed in the down position again, the ice cubes 32, never having been removed from either the grid or the tray, may thus remain in the tray and be placed back in the refrigerator for future use. Likewise, if only one or two of the lifted ice cubes 3| are removed, the remaining lifted ice cubes will descend again when the handle I5 is placed in down position and may be saved for future use, thus the same release handle I6 that operates the dividing bars i4 and l5 and moves the separator grid plate I3 from the angular to the vertical position; to thus break the ice cubes free from the tray, likewise serves to simultaneously operate the ice cube lifting mechanism of this invention in such compartments as this ice cube lifting mechanism is present, making such lifted ice cubes readily accessible. The lifted ice cubes will usually extend about one half inch above the position of the remaining ice cubes and tray and are horizontal in lifted position and not tilted, and hence are readily accessible both for removal from the tray or for dropping back into the bottom of the tra when the handle is placed down again.

While the device has been shown and the structure described in detail, it is obvious that this invention is not to be considered as being limited to the exact form disclosed, and that changes in -'l' detail and construction may be made therein within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of this invention'.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

l. In combination with an ice cube tray and ice cube releasing grid having a lower center dividing bar and an upper sliding dividing bar eX- tending through transversely extending grid plates and a release handle pivoted to both center dividing bars for releasing all the ice cubes by moving said center dividing bars relative to each other and simultaneously changing the angle of the transversely extending grid plates, an ice cube lifting mechanism for less than all the ice cubes comprising an extension plate integrally secured to the bottom edges of less than all of said transverse grid plates, said extension plate extending horizontally when the transverse grid plate is in its normal ice freezing position with the release handle in down position, and an ice cube lifting plate extending through a vertical slot in one less than all the transverse grid plates having the integral extension plate and guided by the vertical slot for vertical movement when the end of each said integral extension plate is raised vertically by the angular movement of the transverse grid plate to which it is attached as it is operated by the center dividing bars and operating handle, said lifting plate comprising at least a pair of enlarged plate portions connected by a reduced connecting neck extending through said vertical guide slot in the transverse grid, and an integral extension plate similarly mounted on the transverse grid of the adjacent compartment, thereby providing at least two lifting points at the ends of the integral extension plates beneath the ice cube lifting plate.

2. In combination with an ice cube tray, grid releasing mechanism including transverse grid members movable in a tilting motion to release all the ice cubes, at least a pair of extension plates, each extension plate being integrally secured to the bottom edges of less than all the transverse grids and extending into the grid compartment at a horizontal angle When the grid is in the ice cube forming position, and an ice cube lifting plate extending through a vertical guide slot in at least one of said transverse grid plates having the integral extension plates and over said integrally secured extension plates whereby tilting movement of the transverse grid plates during the ice cube releasing operation causes the free ends of said integrally secured extension plates to rise up under the bottom of said ice cube lifting plate, thereby lifting said ice cube lifting plate vertically in its guide slot to elevate the ice cube in such compartment, said ice cube lifting plate comprising a pair of enlarged plate portions connected together by a reduced neck, said enlarged plate portions being of a size to t within an ice cube compartment, said connecting neck being of a reduced size to be vertically guided in the vertical slot in the transverse grid.

PETER EZBA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,189,959 Money .v- Feb. 13, 1940 2,297,558 Hintze Sept. 29, 1942 2,351,303 Storer June 13, 1944 2,386,064 Saler Oct. 2, 1945 2,410,292 Kitto Oct. 29, 1946 

